The roadblocks to a college degree: a four-part series

Thousands of college and university students received degrees across the state this weekend, but across the state, nearly half of Rhode Island residents do not have a bachelor’s degree. Business analysts often cite this statistic as one of the factors behind Rhode Island’s slow economic recovery.

To find out what’s behind the number, I met four Rhode Islanders who started college but never finished their degrees. They explained what got in the way of college, and what their lives have been like since leaving school.

Kashief Montgomery, started out as a Central Falls High School football star with a promising future. He got a full scholarship to Dean College in Massachusetts and became the first person in his family to go to college. Then, after just one year, Montgomery left school and his NFL dreams to help care for his first child. Today, he’s is trying desperately to revive his hopes of a career in professional football.

Melinda Morales hopes to become the first person in her family to graduate from college.

today, as the cost of a diploma continues to rise. For Melinda Morales, a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island, a shockingly small amount of money nearly forced her to drop out earlier this year. Morales describes the anxiety she lives with on a daily basis, wondering whether she’ll be able to stay at URI and realize her dream of becoming a doctor.

There are exceptions to every rule, and State Representative Michael Chippendale (R, Foster) is one of them. He found success as an entrepreneur with no college diploma, and when health problems and the recession ended his business career, he won election to the State House.

Chippendale says hard work got him where he is today, but he wouldn’t advise his children to follow the same path.